Are You Expendable?

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

This is how the dictionary defines the word expendable: “Of little significance when compared to an overall purpose, and therefore able to be abandoned; designed to be used only once and then abandoned or destroyed.”

You might remember the action film series, The Expendables, directed by Sylvester Stallone, which portrayed a group of elite mercenaries who were tasked with overthrowing a Latin American dictator. The importance of accomplishing their mission made each person “expendable” — their lives were considered secondary in importance to the success of the mission.

When you read through the book of Acts, it is plain to see that the apostles and the disciples of Jesus saw themselves as expendable in the mission and service of their Lord. For them, self-preservation and self-promotion were as far as the east is from the west. They were 100% sold-out in the service of their Lord, regardless of the cost or circumstance. They were willing to die for the cause, and many of them did die, often in the most excruciating ways.

Take a look at Galatians 2:20 in the context of this truth. Paul wrote —

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Do you see yourself as an expendable disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? How far are you willing to go? How much are you willing to do? How long are you willing to stay engaged in the sold-out service of your Savior? It’s not likely that you and I will be called on to die in the service of our Lord, as many martyrs did throughout the history of the Christian church — and as many are dying in other parts of the world even as I type these words. But make no mistake, we are all called to die to self. We are to put the self to death in order to live for the Savior.

Think about it this way: We are born again to die to our own desires. That death is both a one-time event when we are saved (see Romans 6:2-6) and a lifelong pursuit as we are being sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ (Philippians 3:14). Nowhere does the Bible even suggest that dying to the self is optional for the follower of Christ. It is simply the reality of our new birth and our new calling . . . which means we are expendable.

Let’s close today with a wonderful word of encouragement from the British missionary to China, C. T. Studd:

“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Life is short. Eternity is long. Let us expend ourselves for the glory of God and the good of others with the one life God has given us to live.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!